BBC made 'glaring factual errors' in documentary on PM Modi, say ex-judges, bureaucrats

The documentary raises questions on Modi's role as chief minister in 2002, when the state witnessed deadly riots (Image: Reuters)

A total of 302 eminent citizens, including 33 retired judges, 133 ex-bureaucrats and 156 ex-army officers, released a joint letter on January 21 to condemn the documentary released by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The documentary has "glaring factual errors", and it "reeks of motivated distortion that is as mind-numbingly unsubstantiated as it is nefarious", stated the letter, whose signatories include former Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice Anil Deo Singh, former defence secretary Yogendra Narain and ex-home secretary LC Goyal, among others.

The documentary - 'India: The Modi Question' - has been blocked in the country. It raises questions about Modi's role as Gujarat's chief minister in 2002 when the state witnessed deadly communal clashes. It also highlighted the clashes which erupted due to the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in December 2019.

Also Read | BBC defends Narendra Modi documentary as 'rigorously researched'

The letter released by the ex-judges and bureaucrats said BBC has "completely sidelined the core fact" that Modi was given a clean chit by the Supreme Court.

The apex court has "unambiguously ruled out any role" of Modi in the violence of 2002, and "firmly rejected" allegations of complicity and inaction by the then Gujarat state government headed by him, the signatories noted.

Total 302 signatories eminent citizens write a letter against @BBC. Consists of 13 Rtd Judges, 133 Rtd Bureaucrats including 33 Ambassadors and 156 Rtd Armed forces officers. pic.twitter.com/qVtCNs8L4A

— DD News (@DDNewslive) January 21, 2023

According to BBC, its documentary is based on a "previously unpublished report", obtained by the media group from the British Foreign Office, which allegedly questioned Modi's role in containing the riots.

Rebutting the media group's claim, the letter released by the eminent citizens said: "There is nothing in the so-called British Foreign Office document - said to be based on a report from their High Commission in New Delhi, which was, in turn, said to be based on a report by their diplomat who visited Gujarat in 2002 - that had not been earlier alleged by any number of media reports and commentaries in India in the years following 2002".

The letter further called the BBC an "archetype of British past imperialism in India setting itself up as both judge and jury, to resurrect Hindu-Muslim tensions". The communal tensions were "overwhelmingly the creation of the British Raj policy of divide and rule", it added.

On CAA, which the documentary highlights as one of the contentious policies brought during the tenure of Modi as the prime minister, the letter said the law has "nothing" to target Indian Muslims.

"It is in fact, a law to help minorities (Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Jains) facing religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh gain accelerated Indian citizenship. It has nothing to do with Indian Muslims; there is no word about Muslims in the text of the Act. Has the BBC read the text of the CAA at all before making this blatantly false accusation?"

The passage of the CAA had, however, led to massive demonstrations and protests as civil society groups linked the law to a potential National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise. Critics of the law alleged that non-Muslims who may get excluded from the citizenship list after the NRC gets conducted will able to get citizenship through the CAA.

The Indian government, in its official reaction to the BBC's documentary, said it was propaganda and lacked objectivity.

“If anything, this film or documentary is a reflection on the agency and individuals that are peddling this narrative again. It makes us wonder about the purpose of this exercise and the agenda behind it. Frankly, we don’t wish to dignify such efforts," foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on January 19.